FAQ about Fanmade Vocaloids

This is a list of common questions usually asked about Vocaloids and Fanmade Vocaloids. See Vocaloid Wiki's Mythbusters page for a full take on it. If there is an FAQ that you think can be added to this page, please post on the talk page first.

Pitchloid
"I can't afford Vocaloid software, can't I just use someone's upload? I want my character to sing!"

As stated in the copyright section below, many creators are tolerant about video borrowing when credited properly, but you have to remember that some are not and that some request users not to copy their works without permission. The same goes for non-Vocaloid music, as some record companies are aware of such activity.

The current admin of Fanloid Wiki (User:Bunai82) has no particular issue with pitch changed music as an example voice for fanmades, however, this activity is negatively looked upon in the fandom because a majority of the time the song does not belong to the one who did the pitch change. The songs are taken and changed without permission and a character who is not the real singer, is stated to be the singer. There are limits to what you do when creating a pitchloid character, and simply grabbing a large variety of songs to re-title as your own can have consequences. If you want to create a pitchloid and show others what it sounds like as an example, then you should limit yourself to three songs (at the most) and give full credit to who wrote the song as well as which official Vocaloid (or real artist) sung the song.

If you decide to repitch songs that are not of your creation, then do so at your own risk.

UTAUloid
"I want to be the voice of my Vocaloid, can I use UTAU program for that?"

If you intend to be the voice of your character then I suggest creating a "Human Vocaloid" persona. Because creating a voicebank with UTAU software means your character becomes an UTAUloid. It is not uncommon for a Fanmade Vocaloid to move on to becoming an UTAU, so if you feel your character is ready to transition, please give a heads up to the admin, the admin will move the character to a category about former Vocaloids and place a tag at the top linking to the UTAU page.

Appearance and Design
"Why do so many Fanmade Vocaloids look like Miku? Why do so many Fanmades look like Crypton Vocaloids?"

The obvious reason for many Fanmades appearing quite similar to Miku or similar to Crypton Vocaloids of the second era, is because Crypton is quite popular with the fandom. The school uniform-like designs for Miku, Rin, and Len are considered attractive, thus many like to imitate that on their characters. KEI's illustration was a hit with the growing fanbase, and to this day Fanmade Vocaloids (as well as UTAU) are influenced by it.

In fact the Crypton Vocaloid 2 designs were so influential, that other Vocaloids were expected to follow it, and those who did not have such designs were not viewed as official. However, such sayings have slowly died down over the years, and the fandom has caught on that official Vocaloids come in many designs.

"Official" Vocaloids
"Neru, Haku, Teto, etc are Vocaloids"

The term "official vocaloid" is often used as an antonym of "Fanmade Vocaloids". In the early days of the Vocaloid boom, there were fewer vocaloids than there are now, so when an additional character was needed for fan fiction and fan art. Thus to get around the lack of voicebanks, fan made mascots, variants and derivatives were invented to act as additional "Vocaloids". Some were made to represent a producer's work and their individual settings, others were made to reflect a certain aspect within the Vocaloid fandom, some were simple solutions to fill the void left when no voicebank could cover that vocal range.

Regardless of their origins, because the popularity of certain characters, Crypton began to officially adopt these as part of their Vocaloid cast to be used commercially. Because they appeared so often in PVs and had also begun to appear in merchandise, Vocaloid fans also began to mistake some of these characters for official Vocaloids. However, it should be noted that fanmade vocaloids are not accepted by all the Vocaloid fans.

When UTAU also came into existence, many of these previous Vocaloid habits began to disappear, as these was no longer a need to invent a unique mascot from a Vocaloid as one could make one's own representative from scratch. Though a few producers still take time to invent new characters, with UTAU, the increased number of voicebanks, including an increase in interest of Japanese producers using English Vocaloids, there is less of a call for fanmades as before. However, that does not mean that fanmades are not still being created.

Within this wikia you can find details of the official Vocaloids and a few notable fanmades that are popular.

As Vocaloid became popular in late 2011, "official" became known to be a term applied to only the most popular Vocaloids from Crypton Future Media, and occasionally Gakupo or Gumi due to their media coverage and heavy promotions. Other Vocaloids outside of the group are often mislabeled by uninformed fans as "not official" despite having a voicebank. Usually this is due to biased opinions of pro-Crypton fans, however it is also often spoken by fans who are not aware of the situation and licensing of Vocaloid voicebanks.

Naming, Settings and Designing Mascots
"I can just use any name for my fanmade/Utau without consequence right?"

Through Piapro, fanamde characters that Japanese fans created have become acceptable to a degree. However, Utau (aka Utauloids) are not bound by the same status. While giving a fan made a name, particularly a Japanese name, fans often forget to check the name is not already in use, or that their own desires for the creation do not clash with possible plagiarism of another user's mascot. Particular of note, an Utau owner has the right to demand such a copyright violation to be removed, possibly though force if need be. When designing either a fan made or a Utau, a user must make sure their works do not already clash with another, least they become a victim of the owner's legal fury.

However, one thing to note about official Vocaloids is some mascot designers become particular touchy about their mascot's settings even though unlike Utau they are not covered by the same rules of copyright. Generally a level of respect is given in the Japanese fan base to avoid use the settings another Vocaloid user has used, although arguments have been known to occur over who used the settings first in the past. The most common problem was owed to Pitchloids, that is a kind of fanmade vocaloids who were merely a pitch of a vocaloid such as Akaito. In the past there were so many, in particularly in the early Vocaloid 2 era days, that it became hard to separate them and some even accused the creators of being "lazy".

Regardless of the scenario, many Vocaloid fans even in the western fandom considered it more respectable to obey the various workings of the fan made character process. Also it should be noted that not all the fans accept fanmades.

Vipperloids
"Look at the Crpyton [sic] website, they added a new Vocaloid!"

Vipperloids are put out to trick naive fans into believing a new Vocaloid will be released. Often they go onto become Utau, if copyright ownership of the character allows it. However most are pointed out straight away as fans have become doubtful of a Vocaloid's existence until the studios has given word on the new addition.

Voices of Neru, Haku, etc
"Haku is too high pitched in this song! Crypton are going to make a voice for them! Etc"

Actually, fanmade variants like Akita Neru and Yowane Haku do not even have voices and settings for their voices heard in videos. It is up to producer preference for either character and others like them. Crypton has shown no interest in making voices for the characters either as they are just variations of their own characters, representing fan thought process and workings.

Vocaloid Songs and Videos are Copyright-free
"Vocaloid songs and videos are not copyrighted at all, so I can reproduce, redistribute and modify them freely"

The fact is that this is not true. Many vocaloid songs, not all, are taken as "royalty free" on Nicovideo. This means, it is often regarded that you do not have to pay copyright fees for them unless you use them for commercial purposes. True, there are many secondary songs and videos on Nicovideo. However, all the literary works are under Berne Convention, if the country where you are is a member of it. The stance on You Tube reproducing more varies from creator to creator. Many creators are tolerant to copy their works onto the site as long as their names are credited properly, but you have to remember that some are not and that some request users not to copy their works without permission. In addition, many creators are negative to the redistribution of videos, mp3s, etc. However, since the copyright law of Japan has strongly protected copyrighted works even without being asserted or declared, writing terms of use or requests is not in common on Nicovideo and most of the Japanese creators have not thought that their works would be used out of Nicovideo. Furthermore, note a few Vocaloid songs are registered on JASRAC (such as doriko and 19's Sound Factory). The operator of Nicovideo (Niwango Inc.) and Youtube (YouTube, LLC) pay the copyright fee for the registered songs collectively and this is the reason you can listen to the copyrighted songs sung by vocaloids on Nicovideo or Youtube. Of course, you should not upload the commercial products, such as songs distributed only on the medium form of CD or i-Tune, onto Ustream and other video sites without authorization. If you are not sure of the creator's request and the copyright issue, especially you do not understand the credits and reminders written in other languages, it is prudent to refrain from reprinting the song.